Imagine, you have a cup of tea and you spill it. What is going to spill out? Hot chocolate? Coffee? Probably not. Tea is going to spill out. If you spill tea, tea spills out. If you spill hot chocolate, hot chocolate spills out. The same thing applies to our emotional well-being. If someone cuts in front of us in traffic or in the grocery store, how do we react? If we are exhausted from a long day, we might be irritable and roll our eyes. If we are relaxed and feel productive, you might shrug it off. Dismissing the other person with a wave.
How we react shows how we are doing emotionally. It’s cause and effect.
When we discussed this topic, we discussed how January can feel so long. To me, January does not necessarily feel like it drags on and on or that it is super long. It is more like the newness of the year wears off. It has been 2025 for almost a month now, and I have settled into a routine, whether it is my routine from 2024 or a new one.
It is when I get settled back into work.
Initially, I was invigorated and refreshed, ready to take on the job again. Then the days passed, blending into one another, and I fell into another routine. I am not saying routines are necessarily a bad thing, but they can put us on autopilot. I have a supervisor who would remind me that “you cannot pour from an empty cup.”
If I spill tea, tea comes out. Just like if I spill nothing, nothing comes out.
What you give is what you receive.
Here on Bold, Strong, & Free, we have talked a lot about rest and self-care and why that is important. This is why. To be refreshed from fatigue, exhaustion, and routines. To remind us that even in our fatigue, in all of our tiredness, we can be reminded that “the LORD is our Shepherd and we shall not want, He leads us to green pastures (Psalm 23:1-2).” He wants us to “come to [Him], all who are weary and burdened, and [He] will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”
As I write this, I am listening to one of my favorite hymns As The Deer Pants which comes from Psalm 42. As a deer pants for water, to regain their strength and energy, so do we pant for God to regain our strength and energy and to be refreshed.
May you lean into God today and refresh in Him, so that your cup may be filled.
Elizabeth